The present invention relates to mold box assemblies and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for adjustably mounting a mold box in a machine for forming molded concrete products.
There are several problems that occur with prior art machines for forming concrete products. One of the primary problems is with the vibrator system. As the vibrator system shakes the mold assembly, such vibration causes the entire machine to shake, thereby dampening vibration in the mold assembly and causing uneven spread of cement material. In addition, the vibration fatigues machine parts and alters clearances between primary parts in the machine. Thus, machine and mold box operating life is reduced; product quality is adversely affected, deteriorating even further as the machine ages.
Another problem associated with prior art machines for forming concrete products relates to the fact that various-sized mold boxes are constantly exchanged in the machine to produce different product shapes. When a new mold box is mounted in the machine, major adjustments or realignments are necessary so that the machine can properly engage mold boxes of different heights. The head assembly and mold assembly must also be jimmied until properly aligned together. Thus, with prior art machines, when mold boxes are exchanged, a significant amount of time is required to properly mount and align a new mold box in the machine. This results in machine downtime and reduces overall product output.
In order to overcome the above-described problems with the prior art machines, a novel method and apparatus for forming concrete products was designed for the high speed manufacturing of a wide variety of high quality products. This new method and apparatus was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,228 to Aeseth et al., for Apparatus for Forming Concrete Products and is incorporated herein by reference. That invention increased vibration control in a concrete product forming machine, reduced the amount of time required to mold concrete products, increased the homogeneous consistency of concrete products, and reduced the amount of time required to exchange and align molds in a concrete product forming machine.
A novel self-aligning mold box assembly for use in a machine for forming concrete products, such as the machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,228 to Aeseth et al., is disclosed in my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/361,790, filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Dec. 21, 1994, and incorporated herein by reference.
Another novel mold box assembly for use in a machine for forming concrete products, such as the machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,228 to Aeseth et al., is disclosed in my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/373,936 for Method and Apparatus for Securing Partition Plates in a Mold, filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 13, 1995, and incorporated herein by reference.
While both the machine for forming concrete products disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,228 to Aeseth et al. and the two new mold box assemblies disclosed in my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/361,790 and my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/373,936 have substantial advantages over the prior art, a practical problem with converting to the new machine and mold box assemblies has been encountered. A customer who purchases the new concrete product forming machine also has to purchase new molds designed for use in the new machine. While some manufacturing operations produce only a limited number of products and, hence, need only a few types of molds, other manufacturing operations make a broad spectrum of concrete products and, consequently, may use up to 50 different types of molds for a single machine for making the different products. Obviously, buying a new machine and purchasing upwards of 50 new molds create a substantial expense for a business.